Ancient Rome

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Look of the Land• *Rome is a city in Italy, it is also the capital of

Italy

• *Italy is on the continent of Europe

• *Italy is known for its strange shape– A boot kicking a ball

• *At the tip of the boot is the island of Sicily

• *Like Greece, Italy juts into the Mediterranean Sea 3

Look of the Land

• *There are 2 rivers that run through Italy– Po River

– Tiber River

• *Rome is on the Tiber River

• *Italy is 760 miles long– The length of California

• *Italy is a peninsula4

Look of the Land

• *Italy has two mountain ranges– The Alps (Northern Border)

– The Apennine (Backbone)

• *The mountains protected Rome from its enemies

• *Italy is made up of plains and mountains

• *The plains are called the Latium5

The Alps

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Prosperous Farmers• The Romans had prosperous farms– Wheat

– Beans

– Cabbage

– Lettuce

– Fruits

– Olives

– *Grapes 7

The Founding of Rome

• Rome is the capital of Italy

• *Rome is over 3000 years old

• *Rome began on the 7 hills overlooking the Tiber River

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Romulus and Remus

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The Etruscans• *In 600 B.C. the Etruscans ruled Rome

• *They came from Asia Minor (Turkey)

• *They ruled as Kings

• *They were the 1st people to settle and rule Rome

• *They spoke Latin

• *They invented aqueducts– a way to bring water to the city

• *The first gladiators fought for entertainment

• *They wrote the laws that we still use today

• *In 509 B.C. the Romans drove the Etruscans out

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AqueductsRoman Aqueduct

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The Roman Republic• *They had 2 classes of people– The rich (the powerful)– The poor (the powerless)

• *The two groups were called the Patricians and the Plebeians

• *The Patricians made the laws• The Roman Republic began because the Plebeians rebelled• *Tribunes-represented the farmers (poor)• *Consuls- represented the rich

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Patricians vs. PlebeiansPatricians

• Rich

• Commanded the Army

• Owned the land

• Noble people

• Fewer people

• Higher class

• *Consul

Plebeians• Poor

• The Army

• Farmed the land

• Common people

• More people

• Lower class

• *Tribune13

Patricians vs. Plebeians

• *The Plebeians rebelled and demanded changes in the government

• *A new government called a Republic was created

• *Republic- public thing

• *Citizens choose their leaders

• *Citizens had the right to vote 14

Branches of Rome’s Government

• The citizens of Rome elected representatives to run their government

• *There were 3 branches– Senate

– Tribunes

– Consul

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Branches of Rome’s Government:

Senate– *Oldest and most powerful branch

– Was controlled by Patricians

– Determined how Rome would act towards other governments

– Controlled all of the money collected and spent by the Republic

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Branches of Rome’s Government:

Tribunes– Was a citizen assembly

– *It was elected and represented by the Plebeians

– They worked to protect the rights of the Plebeians

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Branches of Rome’s Governments:

Consuls– Served for one year as Rome’s Army commanders

and most powerful judges

– They were elected by the citizen assembly

– Could order anyone to be arrested

– Could propose new laws

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The Twelve Tables

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The Twelve Tables• For many years only the Patrician leaders knew the laws• The Plebeians did not know what was and was not a law• In 450 B.C. the Plebeians protested• The Patricians agreed to write a collection of laws• They included laws for marriage, trade, and war• The laws were written on the 12 bronze tablets• The tablets were posted in the Forum for everyone to

see

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The War of Carthage

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The Wars of Carthage• *Rome vs. Carthage• Carthage was a Phoenician city in present-day

Tunisia• Carthage controlled much of the land around the

western Mediterranean, including Sicily• *The Romans fought because they wanted to

expand their empire• *There were 3 Punic Wars• Punic comes from the Latin word for Phoenician

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The First Punic War

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The First Punic War• 264-241 B.C.

• The first Punic War lasted for 20 years

• Carthage eventually surrendered control of Sicily

• Sicily became Rome’s first overseas province

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Hannibal

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Hannibal• His father was Hamilcar Barca

• His father wanted revenge on Rome and made his son Hannibal swear to be Rome’s enemy forever

• Hannibal planned to attack Rome by land

• He had an army of 90,000 men with horses

• He also had war elephants, which frightened the Romans 26

The Second Punic War

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The Second Punic War

• 218-201 B.C.

• The second Punic War lasted for 17 years

• Carthage won this war

• Carthage gained control of Spain

• Hannibal was the general that led them to victory

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The Third Punic War• 152-146 B.C.

• The third Punic War lasted 6 years

• Rome won the third Punic War, and defeated Hannibal

• They gained control over Carthage

• Scipio Africanus was the general that led Rome to victory

• Rome was now the most powerful nation in the Mediterranean region

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Julius Caesar

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Julius Caesar • Was born into a Patrician family• Caesar was a very ambitious person• *Caesar seized power over Rome• His victories gave him fame, riches, and the loyalty of the great Army• He used these to make himself master of Rome• *He was very powerful which caused the Senate to worry• Caesar led a Civil War against Pompey• He also helped Cleopatra, Egypt’s Queen, defeat her brother• *When he returned from Egypt he declared himself dictator• *Dictator- someone who rules with absolute power

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Julius Caesar • *His time as dictator was short, but he made many changes• He gave land to his soldiers• He gave free grain to poor citizens• He increased the number of people in the Senate• Granted Roman citizenship to many people not born in Rome• Ordered a new and more accurate calendar

– Named the month of his birth “July”• *All of these changes upset the Senate• *On March 15, 44 B.C. arrived at the Senate and was assassinated• *This day in March is called the Ides of March

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Octavian Augustus

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Octavian Augustus• *Octavian was the grand-nephew of Julius

• *He was able to defeat some of Rome’s most experienced generals

• In 27 B.C. he became imperator (emperor)

• He had the power to:

– Veto any law

– Rule all Roman provinces

– Control the Army

• *As a sign of his new power he took the name “Augustus”, which means honored one

• *The month of August is named after him

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Pax Romana

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Pax Romana• Pax Romana is Latin for “Rome Peace”• *It lasted for 200 years• *Life throughout Rome changed during this time• Augustus was the ruler for 45 of these years• During this time:

– The government became more efficient– New roads and buildings were built– Water systems (aqueducts) were built

• Augustus tried to create a single system of government and money• Goods moved freely within the empire and came from all over the

Mediterranean Region• Life in Rome was good during this time

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Pompeii• Pompeii was an ancient Roman city, buried by a volcanic

eruption.

• 2000 years later, archaeologists uncovered the city.

• The people in ancient Pompeii did not have a chance to escape.

• The city had been quickly buried by volcanic ash.

• When archaeologists dug out the city, two thousand years later, they found petrified bread still in the ovens that had been baking that day.

• Archaeologists learned a great deal from the ruins of this ancient city because it had been so well preserved.

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The Roman Forum

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The Roman Forum• * The Forum was the main marketplace and business center

• The ancient Romans went to do their banking, trading, shopping, and marketing

• *It was also a place for public speaking.

• *It was a public place for business

• *It was a place for open discussion

• *It was also a meeting place

• The Forum was also used for festivals and religious ceremonies

• It was like today’s courthouses

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Roman Baths

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The Roman Baths• Roman baths were a place where Romans would come to

bathe• Roman women and men tried to visit the baths at least once

every day• They would also go to the baths just to visit• Roman baths were a place to be social• In all but the largest baths, there were separate hours for

men and women. • The women's time slot was much shorter, so that women had

to be more careful scheduling.

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The Roman Baths• Larger baths had separate building for men and women• They were also a place where some Romans could go to discuss

politics• These were used at the time of Augustus’s rule• Shops, gyms, libraries, and restaurants were at the bath houses• The baths were arranged rather like a very large mall, with bathing

pools• Small ones held about 300 people, and the big ones held 1500

people or more• The baths ended when the Christian took over power

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Circus Maximus• The ancient Romans loved chariot racing

• Young nobles used to race their chariots around the 7 hills of Rome

• People had to scatter to get out of the way, they stopped for no one

• In the 6 century the ancient Romans built the Circus Maximus in the city of Rome

• The Maximus was a race track

• It was designed to race chariots

• Women could attend the races and could sit with men, this was very unusual

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Circus Maximus• The original Circus Maximus was built out of wood

• It burnt down a couple of times and was then rebuilt using marble and concrete

• The Circus Maximus was not the only circus in the Roman Empire

• The Romans built circuses (outdoor racetracks) all over the Empire, the Circus Maximus was the most well known race track

• It could seat over 250,000 people

• Admission was free.

• Anyone could attend the races, including Rome's poor.

• There were races every day46

Gladiators

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Gladiators• *Prisoners, criminals, and slaves fought

• *At times Christians were forced to fight

• They trained for a long time before they got the chance to fight in the Colosseum

• Some were forced to fight wild animals using a short sword

• If they won they were given a palm branch and a wooden sword, they were now free

• *A gladiator could beg for mercy, if they were popular with the people their life would be spared even if they lost

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Gladiators• Some Gladiators were not prisoners, slaves, or criminals• These Gladiators were taught in a private school• They learned combat, discipline, courage, and loyalty• These Gladiators were owned by their teacher• Some Gladiators were like celebrities• They were well respected and treated well by the Roman

citizens• These events were considered entertainment• They fought to the death• *The cruelty ended in the 5th century A.D.

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Colosseum

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Colosseum• *The Colosseum was a huge public entertainment center

• It could seat 45,000 spectators.

• Some people were not lucky enough to have a seat in the Colosseum

• If you didn't mind standing, the Colosseum could hold up to 70,000 spectators

• *This is where the ancient Romans gathered to watch combat between gladiators, and battles between men and wild animals

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Colosseum

• The Colosseum was built of concrete, faced with stone, as were most amphitheaters

• It was built in the early days of the Roman Empire

• It was designed to host huge spectacles

• Anyone could attend the events in the Colosseum, admission was free

Video

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Roman Calendar• January- Janus• February- Februare• March- Mars• April- Aphrodite• May- Maia• June- Juno• July- Julius• August- Augustus• September- Septem• October- Octo• November- Novem• December- Decem

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Constantine

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Constantine• Constantine was an Emperor • He saw a cross in the sky before an important battle and

ordered the cross to be placed on every soldier’s shield• His army won the battle and he gave credit to Christianity for

his victory• *He then became the 1st Christian Emperor• *Once Emperor he made Christianity an official religion• *He allowed people to choose their religion• *He also ended the persecution of Christians• *The Roman Empire was the birthplace of Christianity

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Roman Accomplishments• The ancient Romans were great builders, they built things to last

– Concrete

– Roads

– Arches

– Aqueducts

• Language

– Latin- the root languages including English, French, and Spanish

– Roman numerals

– Calendar

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Roman Accomplishments• Religion

– Christianity

– The New Testament was written

• Roman Law/Politics

– Twelve Tables

– Republic: power belongs to the people

– Some laws we still use today

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The Fall of Rome• The Roman Empire lasted about 1200 years.

• There is no one single reason, but was instead a series of problems that grew too large to solve.

• One problem was that the empire grew too large to govern.

• Another problem was that the Roman men no longer wanted to serve in the army.

• Civil wars broke out in Rome between different factions.

• The rich grew disinterested in helping Rome and only wanted more for themselves and their families.

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The Fall of Rome• The population of Rome shrank.

• Trade decreased while taxes and prices increased.

• The poor were overtaxed.

• The use of slaves put people out of work.

• The roads fell into disrepair.

• The Romans were aware of these problems and sometimes, under a good emperor, they would work on them for a while.

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The Fall of Rome

• Soon the problems in the Western Roman Empire grew so great that the Western (European) Roman empire, which included the city of Rome, fell to barbarian tribes in Europe.

• The Eastern Roman empire continued another 1000 years.

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